I have friends and family who want to keep up with me and in touch, so I created this blog as a way for me to tell them all the news and stories they want to hear, and on their own time. I also hope to give others an understanding of what it means to serve in the IDF and the service those who do serve are doing.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

The final act of Krav Maga for our training is our hardest on as well. Each person has two parts to his act. The first part is to be a warrior inside to fight one whose act it is ongoing, the second part is the act it’s self. In the building there are 4 warriors, one warrior wielding a knife, and one with a bat. There are also all the Krav Maga, and Terror instructors as well as the officer who runs the section, as well as our Platoon Sergeants and Team Leaders. I started as knife, to be specific. This means every time Adam (The officer who developed the act 15 years ago and comes back to run it every year) calls out knife I run in and attack, stabbing repeatedly until subdued.

After four rounds of knife I got to step out and drink water and rest and then I went in for four rounds as a warrior. The first person to go in we tore apart and within 2 minutes Adam had thrown him out by grabbing his padding and effortlessly hauling him to the door and throwing him out. The second person in was heading to the course to become a Terror instructor the next day, and was rated number 2 in all Israel for MMA. He was no push over to fight, and the third person to enter was the same except for the MMA rating. The fourth person to enter was an easier fight, but by this point I was tiring out from the repeated combat and thus, took some punches in addition to the ones I was giving.

After my round as a warrior I de-padded and went outside to rest. After another two rounds of 4 it came to my round. I was to be second in the round to go. The first person started and then I began to warm up, and clear my mind. The first part of the act is a sprint from the Krav Maga building to the base’s gate and back which one needs to run in under 3 minutes to receive the 3 points. It’s either 3 minutes or less and 3 points or nothing. So as I stood on the start line I cleared all thoughts from my mind and concentrated on only the run, then I heard 3 … 2 … 1 … go! Off I went pouring all my guts into the sprint and trying to milk very second out of the downhill I had to the gate. Back I kept pushing and when I got to the last 100 meters I began to sprint and then before me was the building and the “crowd” I would have to pass. The second part of the act is punching through a crowd immediately after the sprint. So with all the momentum of the sprint I went straight in and fairly easily popping out the other end. From there I ran to the entrance to the building where someone waited me with a punching bag pillow and I began to punch away. On both sides of me now were an instructor and they began to punch away at me, in the stomach. As I worked on the sack they worked on me and began to shout at me “ask for it harder” so I did I boy did I get it, the instructor on my right who looks like he has been taking steroids since age 2 wound up and wham. But I kept going at my sack and a few seconds later I was sent inside to pad up. Once inside there are members of my team who pad me up and then I was ready for the 4th and hardest part of the act.

From the moment I got the order to go it 22 minutes began to tick backwards. For the next 22 minutes I would fight like a maniac and give my all to the punching bag. The moment I ran into the center of the building one of the warriors pounced on me. This was the same person who had been thrown out when I was a warrior previously and I dominated him pinning him to the wall and raining upon him blows. From here on I had no conception of time only a continuity of actions I performed. After my first fight I was sent to the punching bag to work on it and then the team member who had gone in before me was sent in to fight me and from that sparing session Adam sent in the bat, and then the knife, and then more time on the bag. For the next couple minutes things become a blur of sparing one on one, or two on one, with knives and bats as a break, with in between time on the punching bag. Then out of nowhere I begin to take blows from all sides I don’t even realize what is happening of the first few seconds till I realize the officer of the Krav Maga/Terror section is pouring out on to me blows. So while I was already at the point of exhaustion I began to give back blows, a knee there and a swing there. I even succeeded to push him back towards the back wall before he retaliates and I am spinning/flying halfway across the small room to land on my back. Under a rain of his blows I get back on my feet and start to give back again.

When Nitzan (The officer) backs down I am sent back to the punching bag and then in comes the next person from my team. Emanuel, no small man; he is mostly muscle and probably the strongest person in my team. He also received best soldier for the Krav Maga final. So while I work on the bag he comes in and in no time we are sent to fight each other, then a knife comes at me, and then Emanuel again, then bat. This goes on for another repetition or two and then all 4 warriors are sent in on me. By this point I have been in 21 straight minutes of combat, can barley lift my arms, and am running on nothing more than pure adrenaline. For the next minute while I take blows from four people I feel none of it, none at all. While I try and fight back they succeed by pure force of mass to push me into a corner and while I can’t get out I just keep giving back blows. Then after what feels like hours and an eternity Adam shouts out to me “STOP, remove padding.” Done, finished, no more. I remove my padding with a lot of help and as I walk out, I realize I am sacred of myself because I just enjoyed what I did. I just found the experience of beating another person, or person’s, fun.